gandhi's bday and gin

so we're nearing the end of our volunteer project at glenburn tea estate and i'm having mixed feelings. i love the kids and the adult "volunteers" (rather paid teachers) of the glenburn welfare project are great and i'm finally feeling like we're doing good here with our efforts at the 2nd school's library program and the adult english study group we've started. however, nights are rather uneventful and i'm somewhat looking forward to a change of pace, namely, not going home at 5:30 with no where to go afterwards, no sounds of loud tv and loud childrens' games, the sound of a bowling alley above my head (i have no idea what's going on upstairs but it really sounds like there's a bowling alley up there... the kind with the big balls!) and different flavors. my host is a wonderful cook but i'm not used to eating the same kinds of things every day! i would kill for sushi, a fruit smoothie, a burrito with guacamole.... !

at library, we celebrated gandhiji's bday by having the kids make birthday hats which were a huge hit, singing happy bday and of course, treats!! the kids savored every moment and every bite of their cookies and candy! there's no greed in these kids and they were sooo appreciative of their one cookie and piece of candy. they're really the sweetest kids!! we also did some painting of posters to put on the walls of their "new" library room and it's starting to look a lot more lively!

the adult volunteers are really dedicated to the kids and to learning proper english to teach the kids so we're doing our best in the short time we have to help them. we started the group and hope they continue meeting when we leave and that the next set of volunteers will carry it on! we're in darjeeling this weekend to pick up some english language references for them to use when we leave.

hoping to hit sunrise at a gorgeous himalaya viewpoint (tiger hill) tomorrow and praying the clouds clear!! power keeps going out so i'm going to keep this short but i'll try to post some photos of the view from my morning walk on the tea estate, the kids (note the bday hats :) ) and tea pickers working in the fields! it's lovely looking out and seeing the emerald green fields dotted with brilliant umbrellas of all colors!

oh, the gin!!! we were finally invited to our coordinators bungalow for dinner and were soooo excited when her husband asked for our poison of choice! we requested gin and tonics to which he added a splash of bitters and we sipped them slowly sitting on the porch with flowers dripping down around the veranda and the scent of Queen of the Night flowers which smell like jasmine, tiny village lights flickering through the hills and a cacaphony of crickets, cicadas, etc. it was dreamy and ohhhh that first sip of gin!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it was just what the doctor ordered!! aside from a half a beer in a dark, smoky bar lacking in ambiance of any kind, that was my first taste of alcohol since i left and it was dreamy!

o.k. so back to picture posting! all my best to home!!
i miss cereal and milk, fall foliage, guacamole, fresh fruit and of course you all!!