Mixed Reactions

Finally our travelling time has arrived. I'm sitting in an internet cafe in Arambol, sun shining, waves crashing, wondering what's going on in Pune!! That's not right.

Me and Stevie have met some great people out here - when they ask what we are doing in India there is a mix of reactions. Some people think wow that's great, some think I don't think I could handle that and some people think Hmmm..... Ususally it takes a lot of explaining to get them to understand the work that we do. I said to one guy that I have great fun working in Pune and his answer was "how can you have great fun when you work in the slums??!"

My immediate reaction was "What the fuck?, How do you make someone who hasn't seen what I've seen understand?" So, I told him where I work it just like anywhere else. It has it's hard moments but I work with children with smiles that will brighten up your day, with adults who have more life in them than most people I know back home and with a group of people who are becoming the closest friends I will probably ever have. I then asked him "Can you say the same thing about anywhere you have worked?" His answer "No." That was it, just no.

Esther