Music Internship in India

No less than one week till I’m off to India! I had my final vaccination this morning so I'm now invincible to anything and everything. I also started packing today and discovered my bag is too small, even though I'm travelling light - good thing I started early! Just a small amount of shopping left. I had a meeting with Gap Guru a couple of weeks ago and now know where I'm living; with Sarah, a 72 year old social activist (president of a local hospital, spokeswoman for YWCA Chennai, counsellor for an AIDS charity..

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It's been over a week now since I arrived in Chennai and it's gone so quickly! I've settled in to my homestay with Sarah and Chandra, the maid, both lovely people who have made me very welcome. The food is excellent and they have taken it upon themselves to see that I leave a few stone heavier than when I arrived - I was told off for refusing a third plate of curry, and if I don't have a three-course breakfast I'm told I "haven't eaten".

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Feels hotter than ever today! Work is very busy I have 11 classes a week. Six of these are with kids, two with adults (both twice a week) and three are with anyone who wants a 12-week crash course in playing the keyboard. I've been writing quite a few press releases for various different projects. The music school where I'm working is run by a charity, Acts of Mercy, who run an academic school in Mamallapuram, a small record label for local bands to get a break, food distribution, widow training (the husband earns the money and after his death the widow has no income and no skills.

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Today is the day after Indian Independence Day, a national holiday here, where celebrations were held to mark 60 years of independence. The other volunteers and I celebrated by spending the day at a beach resort. At one point, in full sun, the temperature reached 117 degrees fahrenheit, or 48 centigrade! It was quite warm, but lovely to jump in the pool or paddle in the sea to cool off. I'm now a certified master at getting into and out of hammocks and could quite happily sleep in one! Maybe an adjustment to my room when I get home..

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The three months here have gone reasonably quickly, largely thanks to the fantastic people I've been working with. As I'm sure I've mentioned I don't enjoy teaching but one of the reasons I wanted to do this project was to find out if it was a possibility for the future. There are many options; teaching ain't one of them! Next week Nina and I are having three days out of Chennai to teach kids at a school in Ooty, a mountainous area towards the centre of south India (an overnight train journey to get there), and try and give their teachers some new ideas.

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At 5.30 this morning we joined the queue (the first of three) at Kanha National Park. The world and his wife seemed to be there but once inside the crowds miraculously disappeared. The organisation seemed to be better here than at Bandhavgarh, with the entrance operation running very smoothly. Our driver (Krishna) and guide were excellent today, pointing out birds, plants and animals very quickly - sharp eyes, again something better than at Bandhavgarh.

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Well, it's finally here, I'm really doing this!! I'm so excited and yet scared of what I don't know about India. I've done plenty of researching, but I know that nothing can prepare me for what I'm about to experience. I've felt within me, what I would call, the start of a change. I can feel that some parts of who I am will be awakened in India, namely my spiritual side. Two of the main religions in India are Hinduism and Buddhism, and I have a book of the principles of the Buddhist religion, and one of the main Hinduism texts, the Bhagvad Gita, which I will be studying on the 30 hour trip I'm about to take so I can familiarize myself with what they base everything they do.

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I've been in Chennai for about 4 days now, and it has been so amazing!!! I got off the plane to be greeted by a Gapguru representative that drove me to my homestay. I use 'drove' lightly, because this is definitely an interesting experience. If you've ever checked out Chennai driving on You Tube, you'll have a slight idea, but, WOW, I can't believe people actually make it to their destination in one piece! The driver was telling me that the road sizes have not changed at all, and they add 15 - 30 cars a day to the road! There are really no lane markers, so it's pure organised chaos in every sense of those words, quite amazing actually.

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Hi everyone, My final email! I'm back in Delhi for the week after 13 weeks in Chennai and 7 weeks travelling and guess what? I'm utterly in love with this amazing country and I'm very sad to be leaving! At the moment the plan is to come back in five years, do some more volunteer work and more travelling (especially if I get to see tigers again!) but I don't know if I can wait that long.

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