A combination of a dodgy internet connection, power cuts and Jaisalmer being too interesting to spend time there starring at a computer screen means writing regular blogs is hard!
 
So we’ve all settled in to life living at are camp in the middle of the Thar desert - we’ve just moved rooms to ones that have fans - as the mercury will soon be climbing above 50 degrees! I’m surprised how well I’m coping with the heat - though the regular visits to a hotel swimming pool are a guilty relief. The Indians say drinking chai and eating lots of onions and chili help cool you down - things I do regularly. I don’t believe I’ve ever eaten so much fantastic food nearly every day. The food at our camp can be a little repetitive, dhal, chapattis and rice are standard, but it's still fantastic, seconds are a must! And nothing beats a spicy, greasy samosa for 7 rupees from a street stall!
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Our work schedule has just changed so we leave camp at 7am, and return at 11.30am. We get a very long lunch break due to the heat. In the evening we work 4pm till 7pm. The mornings I spend at the school, and the evenings we play sports with the kids, or have community visits or do construction work around the school. The teaching has got to be the hardest thing I’ve done with my life yet. The kids are very challenging. The language barrier is an obvious problem, which is worsened by the kids behavior - rude, stubborn and attention seeking. It's impossible to tell how much they know, as it changes depending on their mood - if they want to impress you, or frustrate you. But they are still sweet, enthusiastic and on the whole do want to learn. Each day we get more control over them. I taught them French cricket, which helped instill the idea that if they are quiet then they will get what they want (the bat/ball). We try and use more creative and fun ways to teach - they love being on their feet. The community visits are a bit odd, we seem to just bombard families (there are like 10 of us) with personal questions, buts it's interesting to learn a little about family life. Construction involved levelling ground and moving rocks, which has given me some nice blisters. I would love to get the area around the school looking good, as its an ugly building site at the moment. I think the kids would like to have a nice area to play in. Although it's rather frustrating when they stand there watching you shift rocks and repeatedly say “Addie, what is you name Addie?”!
 
We’ve been spending the weekends and some time during the week at Jaislamer, which is always fun. There’s a lot to see and just wandering the streets is great. Some of us have booked a camel safari for this weekend, which I’m really looking forward to, I’m not sure what the ‘dunes’ will be like, but it should be an experience.