Last night, all five of the other volunteers came back from their long weekend up in Thekkadi and Kumilli, in the tea plantation hill country next to the Periyar National Park. Really sorry I missed that, but cannot fit everything in!
Two of them are coming in to work at Cheru Resmi for the first time. Poppy (above) and Lucy are the most recent arrivals. They flew in last Friday from the UK, but left almost immediately for the hills. We haven't had a lot of time to get to know each other yet. They are GAPping together, volunteering first in Kerala for a month and then going off on some serious travels.
Babu drives us all over to Sr. Mercy's to check in. I get on with my work while they chat about what the girls will do. Babu knows exactly what the best plan is and whisks them off to work in the Early Learning Centre for pre-schoolers in Poonthura.
For me it's another morning of letters, reports and job descriptions - leisurely and unruffled.
An interesting break happens at about 11 when Babu takes me to the airport to meet some immigration officials. I have been a bit stuck about my travels to Sri Lanka as the new Indian government security rules say that anyone leaving India cannot return for 60 days. I am very concerned about this and haven't been able to book my hotels for fear the whole trip is forfeit. I need to fly back to Trivandrum 24 hours before I catch my return flight to the UK.
Babu has used his network to get me an audience with the "right" people at the airport. After 15 minutes of meeting people and discussing my plans and showing my travel itinerary, several of them agree that I should be fine. I am not totally reassured and ask them for their names. They demur. I explain that it is bound to happen that I will fly back into town at a time when none of them is on duty and I will need to be able to explain to some immigration official that I have already spoken to them about my case. They smile and still don't want to give me their names. It is most disconcerting. Finally the senior man there admits to being a Mr. Krishna! I jot this down on my travel notes. Babu nods that it is time to leave and off we go. Right! Now no more excuses - I need to get on with my SL travel plans.
The second highlight of the day is early evening, shopping for churidars with Lucy, Poppy and Cara in the shops around East Fort. We spend a happy couple of hours near the Temple and the tank exploring Ramachandran's, Aiyappas and Big Bazaar. Tom E is along for the ride and provides a good backdrop of funny lines and chat with the sales staff.
When we get home with all our bags and bundles, we have quite a treat in store. Babu has found a restaurant that does take-away roast chickens and that's what we have for supper, with salad - Delicious! So nice to have a change.
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