~FLASHBACKS~ Memory Avenue: Escape to Isles Nostalgia ~Part Three

And there we stayed. A “Duties” chart was drawn up by the food committee that made all of us take turns to make breakfast, lunch and dinner for everyone. Every morning we have to take turns to wake up at 6am to make breakfast. The guys have to pull the bullock cart outside to the water pump to pump a barrel of water, this will be what we have to use for that day. As the pump is quite low to the ground and there were not any pipes for us to use, we had to first pump the water into a small bucket, then pour that into the big barrel until its full. It is quite a messy and tiring work. Then came pulling the cart back, the road was pretty bumpy and thus full barrels usually don’t stay full by the time it reaches the kitchen. Yes, so we learnt not to fill it up in the first place.

Back at the kitchen the rest of the crew will be preparing whatever was conjured up to be the breakfast of the day. Hot Milo, biscuits, butter, kaya and fruits, these are the usual stuff we get everyday. As for the kaya, apparently they don’t sell that in India. So all we had was whatever we could bring from Singapore. It is quite delightful to smell hot Milo as we gathered around the stove, awaiting some warm comfort in the chilly mornings. We would all be too sleepy and cold to talk, just sitting around staring at the big pot as steam streams above.

On some days, breakfast was provided by our facilitator and we need not wake up early to prepare it. The same sometimes also happens for lunch and dinner. This somewhat messes up the duties chart and as a result, most of the time we don’t really follow it strictly. Not that that really matters much though, as most of us were enthusiastic enough to volunteer working extra.

Around the time we have our breakfast, the rest of the school would be assembled at the field to sing their school song before being herded into the classrooms. We would sit by and watch as they performed their daily routine. Some of the children who are unable to walk were carried along the backs of their friends around the school, happy and oblivious as can be. During break time they would sit in the shaded areas of the field or corridors and play games, filling the dusty school with the lively chatter of joyful children.

After breakfast we would wait for the arrival of a small rickety 3-wheeled lorry that would ferry us to the worksite. All of us would squeeze onto its back, leaving behind just the duty group to prepare the lunch of the day. Along the way we would pass by a short stretch of road flanked by simple stalls and shops made of mostly leaves, branches and some bricks built on the soil. On display were myriads of fruits, local snacks, daily necessities and even live poultry.

Down the road lies a petrol station newly built into the ground. From here the lorry turns left to bring us down a winding road. On both sides of the road one can see the beauty of the rural countryside. Vast plains of padi fields spotted with islands of coconut trees against the clear blue sky of day. Occasionally one can spot cows grazing in the fields. Some might even venture to the roads which sometimes obstruct the traffic. The bulls would have a rope tied around their neck to one of their front limbs to prevent them from charging. No birds can be seen though, I wonder why…

~FLASHBACKS~ Memory Avenue: Escape to Isles Nostalgia ~Part Two

Then from there, we headed to a village school about 30km away. It is here that shall be our new humble abode. Initially though, this was not meant to be where we were suppose to be staying. It was originally arranged such that we stay in the village we were supposed to work in. Toilets were even specially constructed in preparation for our coming of stay. Yet, as it happens, the toilets could not be fully constructed in time. Thus, by the good graces of St Josephs College we were blissfully whizzed here to stay in two of its class rooms for the duration of the project.

When we first arrived, we had to rearrange all the tables and chairs. Dust the floors and prepare our very own makeshift kitchen. We were probably quite the distraction. Students of the school lost interest in whatever they were doing and could not help but look at us in amusement as we buzzed around the school with our activities and babbled strange foreign languages.

Allocated to us were two classrooms, one at each end of the teaching block. “Da Boyz” room was on the side nearer to the kitchen and open bathing area while “Da Ladiez” was on the side closer to the field. This later turned out to be a problem for the girls as 14 of them have had to share the use of 3 toilets for “business” uses and 1 for showering. Contrast that to the guys side that while there were only 10 males, we had the use of 5-6 cubicles and an open bathing area. Whatsmore, the ladies had to draw water from the bathing well on the guys side for use on the girls side but oh well, they had the guys to do that chore for them.

To prevent an onslaught by the national bird of India, we had to set up mosquito nets in our rooms. This proved to be a challenge; we had to figure out how to suspend 10 nets at a comfortable height above the floor. That as well as the direction we should all face when we sleep. The nets must also be easily removed when we don’t need them in the day to allow for other activities. This figured out, we would have to repeat the steps every night and morning over the course of our stay.

Then there was the kitchen, which was actually the ground floor of a building and is what seemed like a miniature hall with many benches and tables. For us were provided the use of a fridge and a stove. As well as a storeroom with which to store our cutlery, dried foods, fruits etc. For one reason or another, this room was always very warm.

Outside of this place is a large rectangular well similar to that of the bathing area where we can draw water for the washing of our cutlery. Water that was for the use of drinking and cooking however, wasn’t drawn from any of these wells. It had to be pumped from the local community pump outside of the school about 5mins walk away, beside the road and among some tall grasses of a grassy field. This water was then boiled but even so, grains of sand can still always be seen lingering in the pot. Reminiscent of where it had came from…