I can't talk. I have woken up with no voice, my worst fear is realised! Not even the steamy tea helps. I whisper to Trent over breakfast that i can't talk and he looks horrified...what about his narrator!? I shrug and hope that as the day warms up...so will my voice.
It is the last day of our project and we will be finishing up at lunch time, so we are glad to be starting early. I paint the outside of the last classroom and put up maps and posters in the freshly painted classrooms, which really brightens up the space. The kids are really excited to see the difference and help me hang them.
I'm also relieved to feel my voice come back a little bit, its croaky, so I try to limit talking as much as possible.
We head back to camp for lunch and a siesta while we wait for the extreme heat to pass. All you can really do in this heat is lie on a mat under a tree and read (if you had a book!)Trent decides he wants a haircut and I volunteer to chop. We then find out Walter is a retired hairdresser so he gives Trent a great haircut, whilst I attempt to wash my scarecrow hair in a bowl.
We head back to the school to say good bye to the kids and give them a few gifts - pencils, books, cricket balls etc. When we arrive, we are all pleased to see how bright the school looks from a distance.
Mr M.P Singh is there with the school principal and they invite us into the classroom to thank us for our work. There is singing, dancing and clapping, then it is time for us to day good-bye.
M.P Singh takes us on a tour of the village including the temple, local store and barber shop. We get a sense of what life is like for it's 6000 strong population.
We then continue on to Mr Singh's house. My moment comes.....Angchuk explains the Footprints concept to the Raj, and how it raised funds for the school project. He invites me to sit down, and I have tea with the Raj.
Later Trent interviews the Raj on the rooftop and we all enjoy the vast view.
