Staff Training

Staff training came very quickly and before we knew it we found ourselves in Damdama meeting the new team.

Whilst the working days were hard, with early starts, late(ish) finishes and most importantly - no aircon - I and the others ploughed on and ensured that things got done.

The best thing about the whole experience however was what happened after work. The team, consisting of all sorts of individuals from a range of backgrounds showed remarkable friendliness and both sides did everything they could to bring down the wall that is the language barrier. From inviting us to their games through to sharing passion about the local flora all the way to inviting us on a reccie for a new potential trek. This meant we had an opportunity to see and meet the local monks (for lack of a more approporiate word).

Moral of the story is, that we expected a lot of things, from dengue to shits, malaria and 50 degrees celsius. Instead, we enjoyed getting to know the aspects of Indian culture unknown even to native Indians as well as the great company of the people with whom we will spend the next year with. So from now on, I shall stop expecting and learn to "roll with it".

Tomorrows stop, Taj Mahal

One of the beautiful things about this place is the fact you will never run out of surprises.