Shanthi’s clinic.

Hello all, Stacey here.

We’re currently in the bus travelling to Shanthi’s clinic, which is run by a woman called Shanthi who works with street workers. The lovely woman who picked us up just asked us if pizza was okay for lunch. Everyone’s face just LIT UP. Pizza! A week ago I would never have gotten so excited after being offered a slice of pizza. At John’s last night he made us fish and chips as well, and as he brought it out Lilias actually shouted “CHIPS!”

A welcome break from the curry, as nice as it is. A couple of us are starting to suffer from dodgy tummies. Well at least we managed to make it about a week in. People are popping immodium like sweets. No one is too bad yet, thankfully. We’ve avoided the mangos, Jackie I think most people are starting to feel a bit rough. The week has flown in so quickly here because we’ve been constantly busy doing things and visiting places, and we haven’t really had time to dwell on anything. Yesterday was the first time we really got a chance to kick back and think for a bit so everything that’s happened has kind of caught up with us. It feels as if we’ve been here for ages because of the amount we’ve done. When I think that this time last week I was packing my case it seems like months ago! I’m still really enjoying myself though. It’s funny because before I came I thought I would find it really difficult and I thought I would miss home a lot. I do miss my family a fair bit, and some home comforts (I have never in my life been so thankful to see a western toilet somewhere.) but so far I haven’t been anywhere near as bad as I thought I would be. Some aspects of life here are really difficult and challenging, such as the heat, the bugs, and did I mention nearly all of the toilets in Chennai are holes in the ground? However, I can’t really say that there’s any place I would rather be than here just now. It’s such an experience getting to visit all these projects and meet all these amazing people like Raj, Sharon, Vanitha, John, Ben, Jessie, Paul, Grace, Captain, Sebastian, Shanthi and Mrs Sunderaj. They’ve all made us feel so welcome and went to such an effort to make us comfortable, even though we’re just a group of Bo’ness plebs. It’s difficult some times, being treated like royalty when there are people we’re driving past in the street who sleep under their stalls at night. It was especially difficult at the young girls’ payer service, where Laura, Kirsty, David, Lilias and I were sat on seats infront of the grieving family. Just because we come from a different place. That’s the only difference between us and the people we see in the slums. And how most of them are so content with their lives really makes you realise how trivial problems are at home.

 Going to Dundigal next week to work on my tan, ahem, I mean to go up into the mountains to visit some tribal people, meet the staff of the Hepzibah Mission Field, and see a tea plantation. It sounds really exciting. 8 hour train journey first thing tomorrow morning though. Quite looking forward to it. I’ll be good to just sit back and relax and talk amongst us for a bit. But for now, Onward to Shanthi’s and then to Sangita!

Stacey x x 

Wow - new dresses! 

Kirsty and John at Mt. Zion Church