So we got off the train this morning at 9:30am and are now in Ernakulam. It is so beautiful here. There are palm trees everywhere, and we even saw some rivers on our way into town. Everyone is so nice! They're still celebrating New Years here, so we'll see about joining in tonight! We will start teaching tomorrow and we'll keep you posted, and hopefully we will be able to share some of our pictures!
~Nicole, Matt, Jenna, Shawn, and Erin
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
our first day in India
My first day in India!
So, today we arrived in Chennai, India at 1 am. We waited in the airport for several hours due to lost baggage, and then made our way out to find a taxi. It was one of the scariest rides I've ever had. There seem to be no traffic laws here and everyone runs red lights. Of course my taxi got a flat tire and the driver left us all inside, so Shawn jumped out to make sure nobody was going to run off with our stuff in the trunk. Then we all got out and Matt, Shawn, and the drive changed the tire as cars and trucks with strange loads zoomed by. After that experience our driver got lost and around 5am we are stopping to ask every Indian we can find for directions, but we made it.
Later in the day after a short nap, and a much needed and wanted shower, we enjoyed breakfast (toast wrapped in egg) and headed out for a peek at India. We walked the streets for a while. The sites were nice but the smell was not so nice. There were so many shops and so many people out, and the children loved us. They stopped and wanted their picture taken and everyone wanted to meet us. In the afternoon we went to the beach. It was beautiful and the weather was great. We played there and meet some new friends from the near by University. Everyone is so nice here!
Tonight my group catches the train (12hours). Until we get to our next destination; Happy New Years!!!
~Nicole
So, today we arrived in Chennai, India at 1 am. We waited in the airport for several hours due to lost baggage, and then made our way out to find a taxi. It was one of the scariest rides I've ever had. There seem to be no traffic laws here and everyone runs red lights. Of course my taxi got a flat tire and the driver left us all inside, so Shawn jumped out to make sure nobody was going to run off with our stuff in the trunk. Then we all got out and Matt, Shawn, and the drive changed the tire as cars and trucks with strange loads zoomed by. After that experience our driver got lost and around 5am we are stopping to ask every Indian we can find for directions, but we made it.
Later in the day after a short nap, and a much needed and wanted shower, we enjoyed breakfast (toast wrapped in egg) and headed out for a peek at India. We walked the streets for a while. The sites were nice but the smell was not so nice. There were so many shops and so many people out, and the children loved us. They stopped and wanted their picture taken and everyone wanted to meet us. In the afternoon we went to the beach. It was beautiful and the weather was great. We played there and meet some new friends from the near by University. Everyone is so nice here!
Tonight my group catches the train (12hours). Until we get to our next destination; Happy New Years!!!
~Nicole
Greetings from Chennai
We've all finally made it to Chennai safe and sound. The trip to London was nice. London was cold but also very pretty with all the buildings decorated for Christmas. We arrived in Chennai this morning at 1am and almost made it to the hotel without any drama, but then British Airways lost Erin's luggage, and then Matt's taxi got a flat tire on a very dark street in the middle of the night! Regardless, all is well with everyone. Matt, Jenna, Nicole, Erin, and Shawn leave for Kerala this evening on an overnight train. They'll try to make the most of New Year's Eve though. The rest of us leave for Mamallapuram in the morning. We'll keep you informed.
- Ben
- Ben
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The Terrorist Attacks in Mumbai
This past week, Swim India's upcoming programs have been overshadowed by the terrible terrorist attacks that rocked Mumbai. Many people lost their lives in this tragedy and a whole country is now in mourning. It will be months before the full repercussions of last week's events are fully realized and, although we don't know how this incident will affect our organization's future, we are continuing with our program plans for January.
While we are in India, we will be taking a number of precautions in order to minimize the risk to our volunteers. First, we will be travelling in two states, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. These states have some of the safest track records in all of India. We will be sticking to smaller towns for the most part, never closer than 600 miles from Mumbai. Also, we will be avoiding any high profile targets such as government buildings, resort hotels, and fancy restaurants. Our volunteers will always travel in groups, avoid public mass transit systems, and minimize the amount of time spent outside after dark.
India has also taken measures to ensure the safety of its citizens and visitors. In the shadow of these attacks, India has increased its security and intelligence nationwide. Pakistan has been assisting in the investigation and has pledged any support India needs to bring these terrorist cells to justice.
Swim India will continue to monitor events as they unfold over the next few months and will adjust its future programs accordingly. We are committed to making our volunteers' safety our top priority. You may check our website and blog for updates as we become aware of them. Please keep the people of India in your thoughts as they come to terms with a changing world.
Regards,
Ben Schaub
Executive Director
While we are in India, we will be taking a number of precautions in order to minimize the risk to our volunteers. First, we will be travelling in two states, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. These states have some of the safest track records in all of India. We will be sticking to smaller towns for the most part, never closer than 600 miles from Mumbai. Also, we will be avoiding any high profile targets such as government buildings, resort hotels, and fancy restaurants. Our volunteers will always travel in groups, avoid public mass transit systems, and minimize the amount of time spent outside after dark.
India has also taken measures to ensure the safety of its citizens and visitors. In the shadow of these attacks, India has increased its security and intelligence nationwide. Pakistan has been assisting in the investigation and has pledged any support India needs to bring these terrorist cells to justice.
Swim India will continue to monitor events as they unfold over the next few months and will adjust its future programs accordingly. We are committed to making our volunteers' safety our top priority. You may check our website and blog for updates as we become aware of them. Please keep the people of India in your thoughts as they come to terms with a changing world.
Regards,
Ben Schaub
Executive Director
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
2008 Program Wraps Up
We finished up our time in India earlier this week. After our lifeguard class finished, we spent a few days traveling around Goa and visiting its sights, getting to know the wonderful people there. We took an overnight train to Mumbai last weekend where we were to catch our flights home. Determined to make the most out of only one day in Mumbai, we toured the harbour, visited an island infested with monkeys, and walked around the amazing Mumbai University.
Our flights went smoothly and we all made it back to Tucson in one piece. It's great to be back but miss the travel and adventure. We're already beginning to organize next year's trip. Hopefully we'll be able to train even more beach lifeguards. We also want to visit local schools and educate the children about water safety, first aid, and CPR. We plan on working closely with RLSS throughout the year.
To see all of the photos from our trip, go to wwww.swimindia.smugmug.com. We will be adding more over the next couple of weeks as we get our film developed. Enjoy!
Our flights went smoothly and we all made it back to Tucson in one piece. It's great to be back but miss the travel and adventure. We're already beginning to organize next year's trip. Hopefully we'll be able to train even more beach lifeguards. We also want to visit local schools and educate the children about water safety, first aid, and CPR. We plan on working closely with RLSS throughout the year.
To see all of the photos from our trip, go to wwww.swimindia.smugmug.com. We will be adding more over the next couple of weeks as we get our film developed. Enjoy!
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Here are all our posts!! First internet in a week!!! ENJOY!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
We finally arrived in Goa yesterday. I was a bit nervous about how we would be received (or if we'd be received) by the RLSS (I). But they were at the airport just as planned. As we drove to our guest house Purush, the founder of RLSS (I), told us all about his mission and the sorry state of affairs with lifeguarding in India. It seems that India has many lifeguards, particularly in Goa, but these guards are found through private contractors. They hold no certifications, have no training, but are simply good swimmers. Often, when these guards see a swimmer in distress, they only try half heartedly or not at all in fear of their own safety and well being. This is why there are so many drowning deaths on the beaches of Goa. Indians come from all around the country, take buses for days from places like Delhi and become mesmerized by the ocean. That's when they get into trouble.
Purush's organization is the only organization within India that trains and certifies lifeguards. However, they receive no support from the government. For the past ten years, he has been working to standardize lifesaver and lifeguard qualifications throughout the entire country. He has been successful in Mumbai and Pune where most resorts only hire guards with RLSS (I) certifications.
Our guest house is pretty nice. Matt and I are sharing a room. Our shower head is plugged into the wall, for heat I guess. But every time we turn the water on to take a shower we get electrocuted. So until they fix it, we have to shower in sandals. Also, my beard trimmer apparently broke during the plane trip because when I went to trim it up I accidentally shaved it off.
We're all doing well, pretty healthy, and loving the warm Indian air.
-Ben
Friday, January 4, 2008
Yesterday was our first full day in Goa. We took it easy and hungout at the beach with some of the RLSS(I) lifeguards. They helped us tuneup our skills on rescue boards and showed us some other cool open water lifeguarding tricks. Pursh, the director of RLSS(I), went to Panjim (Goa's capital). He went there to visit with the Minister of Tourism to hopefully try and get a lifeguard training center opened in Goa. It is desperately need, because just yesterday Goa had two drownings.
Last night we enjoyed a delicious Goan meal of Pomfret fish, naan, and rice. We ate right on the beach, and watched a beautiful Goan sunset.
Today we had our first full day of teaching the lifeguard class. There are about 12 participants as of right now, but we are expecting more tomorrow. We hopefully we will be able to train close to 40 lifeguards. Our current participants traveled all night on buses from Mumbai, just to take our class. They were somewhat weary today, but they seem very enthusiastic. We have the RLSS(I) lifeguards helping us teach and translating.
-Bree
Monday, January 7, 2008
The past few days we have been teaching and perfecting the lifeguarding skills that we have taught to the 22 students that we received. We have been teaching them everything from CPR and first aid to the how to read the tides of the water to the different ways there are to perform rescues in different situations. As the days went on, we really saw great improvement each day and have become like proud parents. Its really a great reward to see how much that we can help these students and to know that we could potentially save a life if one of the students ever has to use these skills that they learned from us. Everything so far has gone pretty smoothly and are loving every second of it. Our students are so fun and really fast learners, we couldn't have asked for anything better.
On the other hand, we've also been having a nice and relaxing time when not teaching. The beaches are beautiful with not to many people, the water is warm and eating the freshest seafood for dinner at the little beach shack style restaurants is pretty awesome. Also the lady that owns the guest house we're staying at got electricians to fix our shower and they did, but its broken again. I went to turn off the shower in the girls room because lindsey said the nob was shocking her a little bit, and I touched and got electrocuted so bad and my arm twitched and slapped lindsey in the head.(HAHA)
We're having a really good time here and even though the times going by pretty fast, it still seems as if Lindsey and I have been gone for months. See you guys in a week, don't miss us to much.
-Matt
Ohh yeah, the leader(Parush) of RLSS is great and sounds like Yoda from Star Wars with all this positive advice metaphors he keeps using. Not like you wanted to know that though.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
We finished our lifeguard training program yesterday. We had to put on a final presentation of skills in front of two officials from the Goan Tourism Department as well as several RLSS board members. We arranged the students into three groups. I led a group through a CPR demo, a carriage/drag demo, and a spinal log roll and boarding demo. Bree helped one of the Indian lifeguards, Kunal, with a shallow water rescue tube rescue demo. Matt and Lindsey assisted Tushar, another Indian lifeguard, with a rescue board rescue and beach resuscitation. Afterwards, the students were presented with certificates and although they worked as lifeguards before, with the certificate they have more clout, have more job security, and may be able to get better wages in the future. Not to mention, they won't drown now if they have to save somebody.
Teaching the class overall was a great experience. It was also frustrating at times. The students really aren't good swimmers. We (the Americans) wanted to work on swimming skills with them but the Indian instructors felt that it wasn't a good use of our time. They didn't think you could make much progress on stroke in only 5 days. I don't know if that's true, but we decided to focus mostly on skills. Our amount of involvement was also frustrating occasionally. Matt and I taught and led lots of exercises. However, the girls struggled to be included. This is because in Indian culture, there isn't too much male/female workplace interaction. Our Indian instructors didn't know how to talk to them and how to use them. Matt and I discussed this with them on a few occasions and by the end the girls were feeling as though they helped out quite a bit (I think they were the students' favorite instructors). These frustrations are inevitable I think when you work in cross-cultural environments. One of the goals of this trip was to experience that environment and be productive in it and we definitely accomplished that.
We had a giant party last night to celebrate the end of the course and our time with RLSS. Purush's wife cooked a huge meal and invited our guest house family, neighbors, RLSS board members, and of course the instructors to a huge barbecue. Matt and I barbecued the chicken tandoori. But there was also rice, chicken biryani, Goan fish, naan, veggies, paneer, and drinks. It was a nice way to end things.
The RLSS crew will leave tomorrow. Today we are going with the other instructors to Panjim, Goa's capital. We'll do some shopping (they'll help us bargain) and sight see around there. After today, we still have a few more days before going back to Mumbai and home. We've been invited to a nearby resident's house one day. We also plan on checking up on some of our recruits at Palolem beach in the south.
We've been going hard 18 hours a day. This change of pace will be nice and hopefully we can stay in touch a little better.
-Ben
We finally arrived in Goa yesterday. I was a bit nervous about how we would be received (or if we'd be received) by the RLSS (I). But they were at the airport just as planned. As we drove to our guest house Purush, the founder of RLSS (I), told us all about his mission and the sorry state of affairs with lifeguarding in India. It seems that India has many lifeguards, particularly in Goa, but these guards are found through private contractors. They hold no certifications, have no training, but are simply good swimmers. Often, when these guards see a swimmer in distress, they only try half heartedly or not at all in fear of their own safety and well being. This is why there are so many drowning deaths on the beaches of Goa. Indians come from all around the country, take buses for days from places like Delhi and become mesmerized by the ocean. That's when they get into trouble.
Purush's organization is the only organization within India that trains and certifies lifeguards. However, they receive no support from the government. For the past ten years, he has been working to standardize lifesaver and lifeguard qualifications throughout the entire country. He has been successful in Mumbai and Pune where most resorts only hire guards with RLSS (I) certifications.
Our guest house is pretty nice. Matt and I are sharing a room. Our shower head is plugged into the wall, for heat I guess. But every time we turn the water on to take a shower we get electrocuted. So until they fix it, we have to shower in sandals. Also, my beard trimmer apparently broke during the plane trip because when I went to trim it up I accidentally shaved it off.
We're all doing well, pretty healthy, and loving the warm Indian air.
-Ben
Friday, January 4, 2008
Yesterday was our first full day in Goa. We took it easy and hungout at the beach with some of the RLSS(I) lifeguards. They helped us tuneup our skills on rescue boards and showed us some other cool open water lifeguarding tricks. Pursh, the director of RLSS(I), went to Panjim (Goa's capital). He went there to visit with the Minister of Tourism to hopefully try and get a lifeguard training center opened in Goa. It is desperately need, because just yesterday Goa had two drownings.
Last night we enjoyed a delicious Goan meal of Pomfret fish, naan, and rice. We ate right on the beach, and watched a beautiful Goan sunset.
Today we had our first full day of teaching the lifeguard class. There are about 12 participants as of right now, but we are expecting more tomorrow. We hopefully we will be able to train close to 40 lifeguards. Our current participants traveled all night on buses from Mumbai, just to take our class. They were somewhat weary today, but they seem very enthusiastic. We have the RLSS(I) lifeguards helping us teach and translating.
-Bree
Monday, January 7, 2008
The past few days we have been teaching and perfecting the lifeguarding skills that we have taught to the 22 students that we received. We have been teaching them everything from CPR and first aid to the how to read the tides of the water to the different ways there are to perform rescues in different situations. As the days went on, we really saw great improvement each day and have become like proud parents. Its really a great reward to see how much that we can help these students and to know that we could potentially save a life if one of the students ever has to use these skills that they learned from us. Everything so far has gone pretty smoothly and are loving every second of it. Our students are so fun and really fast learners, we couldn't have asked for anything better.
On the other hand, we've also been having a nice and relaxing time when not teaching. The beaches are beautiful with not to many people, the water is warm and eating the freshest seafood for dinner at the little beach shack style restaurants is pretty awesome. Also the lady that owns the guest house we're staying at got electricians to fix our shower and they did, but its broken again. I went to turn off the shower in the girls room because lindsey said the nob was shocking her a little bit, and I touched and got electrocuted so bad and my arm twitched and slapped lindsey in the head.(HAHA)
We're having a really good time here and even though the times going by pretty fast, it still seems as if Lindsey and I have been gone for months. See you guys in a week, don't miss us to much.
-Matt
Ohh yeah, the leader(Parush) of RLSS is great and sounds like Yoda from Star Wars with all this positive advice metaphors he keeps using. Not like you wanted to know that though.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
We finished our lifeguard training program yesterday. We had to put on a final presentation of skills in front of two officials from the Goan Tourism Department as well as several RLSS board members. We arranged the students into three groups. I led a group through a CPR demo, a carriage/drag demo, and a spinal log roll and boarding demo. Bree helped one of the Indian lifeguards, Kunal, with a shallow water rescue tube rescue demo. Matt and Lindsey assisted Tushar, another Indian lifeguard, with a rescue board rescue and beach resuscitation. Afterwards, the students were presented with certificates and although they worked as lifeguards before, with the certificate they have more clout, have more job security, and may be able to get better wages in the future. Not to mention, they won't drown now if they have to save somebody.
Teaching the class overall was a great experience. It was also frustrating at times. The students really aren't good swimmers. We (the Americans) wanted to work on swimming skills with them but the Indian instructors felt that it wasn't a good use of our time. They didn't think you could make much progress on stroke in only 5 days. I don't know if that's true, but we decided to focus mostly on skills. Our amount of involvement was also frustrating occasionally. Matt and I taught and led lots of exercises. However, the girls struggled to be included. This is because in Indian culture, there isn't too much male/female workplace interaction. Our Indian instructors didn't know how to talk to them and how to use them. Matt and I discussed this with them on a few occasions and by the end the girls were feeling as though they helped out quite a bit (I think they were the students' favorite instructors). These frustrations are inevitable I think when you work in cross-cultural environments. One of the goals of this trip was to experience that environment and be productive in it and we definitely accomplished that.
We had a giant party last night to celebrate the end of the course and our time with RLSS. Purush's wife cooked a huge meal and invited our guest house family, neighbors, RLSS board members, and of course the instructors to a huge barbecue. Matt and I barbecued the chicken tandoori. But there was also rice, chicken biryani, Goan fish, naan, veggies, paneer, and drinks. It was a nice way to end things.
The RLSS crew will leave tomorrow. Today we are going with the other instructors to Panjim, Goa's capital. We'll do some shopping (they'll help us bargain) and sight see around there. After today, we still have a few more days before going back to Mumbai and home. We've been invited to a nearby resident's house one day. We also plan on checking up on some of our recruits at Palolem beach in the south.
We've been going hard 18 hours a day. This change of pace will be nice and hopefully we can stay in touch a little better.
-Ben
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Ben and Bree's Plane Adventure
Big Ben and Big Bree
New Year's along the Thames River
Together at last on Chowpatty Beach
Matt and Lindsey's Highlights
On the elephant in Chitwan National Park
Kayaking on Phewa Tal Lake in Pokhara
Taj Mahal
On top of Swayanbutnath Stupa(Monkey Temple) in Kathmandu
We spied an Indaian Rhino while on top the elephant. One of two places in the world to see them.
Chitwan public transpotation(very fast).
Viva India
After 30 hours of travel (and a short visit to London on New Year's Eve) We made it to Mumbai in one piece (with the exception of Bree's voice). Matt and Lindsey were at the airport waiting for us. They looked almost as haggered as us having spent a horrible day in Delhi. They had managed to get to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and loved it. Then they celebrated New Year's with a feast from McDonalds. Delhi itself was less than welcoming especially when someone at the airport stole Matt's ticket.
Now here in Mumbai, things are a little more laid back than in Delhi. Yesterday, the four of us walked the streets and saw the India Gate, the spot where the British first landed. We also went to Chowpatty beach and bought food off the street. We're not sick yet so I guess it was okay. Today we leave for Goa to meet with a representative from the Rashtriya Life Saving Society. After that we will begin teaching. All of us are enjoying the heat, getting used to dealing with beggars, and still getting scammed by taxi drivers. Hopefully, we will have internet access so we can post more often and a computer with a USB port so we can put up some pictures.
Cheers, Ben and Bree
Now here in Mumbai, things are a little more laid back than in Delhi. Yesterday, the four of us walked the streets and saw the India Gate, the spot where the British first landed. We also went to Chowpatty beach and bought food off the street. We're not sick yet so I guess it was okay. Today we leave for Goa to meet with a representative from the Rashtriya Life Saving Society. After that we will begin teaching. All of us are enjoying the heat, getting used to dealing with beggars, and still getting scammed by taxi drivers. Hopefully, we will have internet access so we can post more often and a computer with a USB port so we can put up some pictures.
Cheers, Ben and Bree
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