Blessings Snow Dwellers!

Hi All! As I have heard its currently SNOWING back in England!
I'm sad to hear this, at least we had a white easter! I'm sad to say that it hasn't been snowing in India today, or will it do so soon...

Today I spent a few hours playing cricket; badly but that's not the point.
Anyway I got sunburnt today during the midday sun!
I'm looking somewhat lobster like at present, and its not the giant pincers! I managed to get a total of 1 run! But I also got a stunning wicket while fielding, but that was about it...
Today we went to church for an easter sunrise service, this started at 6am. Although me and Raj arrived somewhere around 6.25
We were provided with a breakfast after the service which proved good incentive.

Since my last blog i mentioned going to Breakthrough Centre on monday. Thankfully this did actually happen as planned.
Sadly they didn't have any groups in and so the centre was slightly dormant. I did get a tour around the now stunning looking adventure centre!
They have built some incredible structures for ropes courses and other experiences. When I last went there we taught them to abseil from the rock on site, and there were only a few activities available. But now there are a plethora of team building activities available.
Breakthrough has specialized in Corporate Training and team building which has really benefited them. As well as the high ropes course at the centre in Bangalore; they have built one in Hydrobad, another major southern city and one in Egypt for an adventure centre. As we speak, Robin paul and some of his staff are in America doing some more corporate team building work.


I was so very impressed in what they have achieved in the last several years. As well as the high ropes course they have built a man made cave system covering 100 feet in length. this in pitch black including some declines and inclines too.
Also they have build a monster of a swing, this they called the screamer. As you could guess from the photo. The participants are released from the top of the building and swing to the same height the other side. This provides teamwork in getting the pulleys to make the swing reach the appropriate height. We spent the morning looking around the centre and helping with some resources. We left that afternoon after a pretty good lunch! www.breakthrough-india.com




The next day (tuesday) we headed to the bible college; SABC and provided some more abseiling for the conference goers.

This again was the small time of the recreation hour, but we were more slick than before and also more confident in the abseiling instruction. This time we managed to get some girl down the wall, which was great because most indian girls would not do anything like this!
Although a little scared we managed to get 3 or so girls down the wall over the next 2 sessions, along with some pretty exited guys too! many of them had never experienced anything like this, and were also somewhat scared of heights. We helped them conquer their fears by assisting them off a 3 storey building...

The final day in the college (thursday) me and Raj went in to lead some seminars for the morning. Raj spoke about some experiences of adventure and what it was about and I also did a short talk about my life in adventure; including CYE and my degree and placements.
My talk also included why I thought outdoor education was important through my own experience and knowledge.

This went down ok, although a little difficult. The problem is they all speak English and understand it they cant understand it with a different accent to what they are used to! For example a British accent like myself, and with the added problem of my fast speaking anyway. It went fine otherwise, I had to slow down and speak louder and they seemed to be interested in what I spoke about. I answered the questions as best as i could along with some other questions and experiences at the end of Raj's following talk on integrating youth in church.

The next day was good friday. We went to church for a morning service and then back to Raj's place for the rest of the day.

As i mentioned in my last post i went for a shave and a hair cut, also an indian head massage! All for 100 rupees! It was great fun, i have never had my hair done professionally before and so my first time was in india. Along with the hair cut; which was somewhat short, I had a full shave and a head massage. indian head massages are renowned around the world. This treatment I was enjoying was in a 'mens beauty parlour' The hair cut was pretty good, very neat and slightly shorter as the hot season is coming.

The shave was good also, somewhat unnerving with the razor blade, but you soon get used to it. I also enjoyed an indian head massage consisting of menthol oils and a series of slaps on the head using various hand techniques, accompanied with massaging of the head and face.

They also used an electronic hand massage device for your head and shoulders, they also cracked my neck which felt weird. some of you might be closing your eyes night now, but it was good... honest!


This last few days had been the host to what is called 'Holy' or 'playing holy'.
This is the celebration of colour. This is displayed by people having fights with very colourful paints! I have seen plenty of purple and orange and yellow people all over the place. This is usually involving the people who do not originate from india, but everyone gets involved it seems. some like to include eggs to make it more fun... bystanders are not picked on which is handy too.

The plan for this week is to go to Breakthrough on monday and tuesday and take part in some group work as there is a group in those days.

Me and Raj are hopefully booking tickets for trains buses and planes for when my parents and Andy arrive on April 4th. i plan to meet them in chennai when they arrive and come back to Bangalore with them after a few days.

Anyway that's enough for now, ill update at the weekend possibly, or when something interesting happens!

Much love

Charlie D x