Miranda Rew-Duffy - Teacher
"I’ve been living in India for just under three weeks now. It’s hard to believe it has only been 18 days since I stepped off the plane at New Delhi Airport and shook hands with this amazing country.
The first thing to hit me as I stepped out of the airport, into the hazy New Delhi air, was the humidity! Within moments we were sweating and only too happy to jump into the air-conditioned taxi to really begin our journey.
At first the roads seemed pretty wild in Delhi. There often weren’t any lines on the road or if there were, people drove all over them. Several times there were three lanes of traffic on a two lane road. Oh and Indians don’t indicate, in fact pretty much all they do is honk their horns at each other. But it’s not in an aggressive way, it’s like they’re just letting each other know that they’re there.
What I first thought were suicidal road conditions and drivers, I soon realized was actually a kind of organised chaos. And that’s how it is with a lot of things here in India. Over the next few days of orientation my fellow Lattitude volunteers and I began to understand the complexity and richness of this country. The contrast of wealth and poverty, beauty and hideousness.
I arrived at my placement after a four-hour train trip from New Delhi. The school my gap partner and I are staying at is called Olympus High, situated on the outskirts of Dehradun. It is a beautiful spot with views of the surrounding mountains and easy access into town where we love to buy Indian clothes and sweets. We have felt warmly welcomed by both our hosts and the children. We live in a dormitory with about 12 of the school children and this has proved to be a lot of fun! Already we have had karaoke, dancing, Hindi, drawing and yoga lessons! They are an endless source of information and fun!
Our days are filled rotating through classrooms at the school, teaching spoken English and Grammar to the students as well as exchanging cultures. They love learning traditional Australian songs. Just the other day we had the whole Year 5 class singing ‘A Home Among The Gum Trees’. There is never a dull moment in India – every day is filled with something unexpected and a lot of fun!"