How to lose 2lbs a day!

I am not a small woman but I will be going home with a smaller body and a bigger mind full of some wonderful experiences. The heat and humidity take some getting used to. I would pay good money for a sauna to sweat out the impurities and lose the weight ay home- but here well, it’s free. We have what I’d call 2 shirt days. Cold showers have never felt so welcoming.

I envy the school children and the school teachers for always looking so elegant and neat and clean. I mean white socks in this dust and heat!!!

The ceiling fans are welcome to move the hot air around and keep things a bit cooler, bit it makes cutting and sticking and working with small bits of paper rather difficult! Advice to future volunteers – beware of cutting and sticking. The children spend most of the lesson retrieving the lost words to remake their sentences.

As it is the end of the school year and exam time, we have it easy. Hats off to those who came before and worked harder and longer hours!!!

Our main work is with the Manipur children who are an amazing bunch. They have adapted to well to meeting new volunteers every couple of weeks.

I found the hardest things actually grasping their names as they are quite long and difficult to get my western tongue around. I hope they forgive me for my bad attempts. We have enjoyed working on some of Aesop’s Fables and dinosaurs.

Outside of school Fort Cochin is lovely, great place to watch the other tourists wander around and enjoying the Chinese fishing nets and going into the local stores. It is especially lovely to see Indian families out with their children in the parks – the dads helping their little ones climbing up the slides and the older siblings pushing the smaller ones on the swing. It’s a bit of a shame the park isn’t better maintained though.

I have sweated off the weight, but the downfall with this place is the food, it is really good. As a fish lover I have eaten some beautiful fish dishes – not hot but spicy and so tasty. But the killer is the cold coffee (with ice-cream), but you do need a treat at the end of a hot day, something cool and sweet.

It has been interesting to meet the others working here, such a diverse cross section of people from all over the world, but all with a similar outlook and aim. To enjoy the whole experience of GVI and Kerala, and to do the best for the children entrusted to us for a little time.

So don’t just come to lose weight, but come with an open mind ready to embrace whatever it is you may smell, see or taste or be asked to do.

It will expand your mind but certainly not your hips!

How to lose 2lbs a day!