Wednesday, March 21, 2012

First Day Chinchoti



After an hour long ferry ride through the Arabian Sea, an hour on a bus, and forty-five minute rickshaw ride, we finally arrived in the beautiful village of Chinchoti.  Upon arrival, we were greeted with a parade and celebrations, as the entire community came out to welcome us.  There was music, dancing, and a beautiful bindi ceremony. After this, we all went to one of the houses for an incredible lunch, as we talked about what was to come.  We then were introduced to our host families and shown our homes for the next week. After dropping off our bags, we went for a walk around the village and ended up at a lake where we helped do laundry, skipped rocks, and played games with the children. On our walk back, we tried to help carry the laundry on our heads but it was a complete mess. It IS as hard as it looks. Then we spent some more time getting to know our host families: sharing music, dancing, getting henna and having dinner. Finally, to conclude the day, Krishna (our guide) gave us some lessons in Marati, as we wrote some key phrases in our journals. Today was a really beautiful day and we couldn't be more excited for the coming week, as we work with the village to build their community center.