It's been quite a while since our last update, of which lots of things actually happened.
It begun with a completely empty wall, with patches of peeling paint, and a larger-than-expected expanse of wall to cover. Our logistics were quite limited as well, as we lacked brushes and constantly had problems with our paint supply.
You can now see the progress of our beautiful mural for the kindergarten children!
Painting the base coat on the mural outside
Painting the mural inside the kindergarten block
The Final Product of Our Hardwork!
Inside:
Outside:
Hand-painting with children on mural outside
We also interacted with the Ladakhi students, clearly seeing the effects of globalisation; as most of them were avid fans of pop contemporaries such as Justin Bieber.
The Ladakhi students even challenged our ODAC guys to a game of soccer, something that they were only too glad to oblige, even through the blistering cold wind and the plaguing exhaustion from the drastic change in altitude. Although they had to brave the elements, including the sandy ground and the homeground advantage by the Ladakhi students; our ODAC guys managed to emerge victorious. Whether it was because of pure skill or sympathy on the opponent's part has yet to be determined.
We emerged VICTORIOUS! 5-3 :D
According to some of our members, "THE WORLD'S A SOCCER FIELD, THE MEN ARE MERELY PLAYERS WHILST THE WOMEN ARE ALL THE SPECTATORS." (we think it might be Clara, but she claims it was a collective decision)
We also taught them part of our mass dance, our VJC cheer; and in return they shared their traditional Ladakhi dance and helped us with our basic Ladakhi.
TO most of our ODAcers, the highlight of the entire hotel stay was the dinner of which mutton curry was served. A relatively normal dish in Singapore, it was particularly special because of the lack of meat in our diet for the past few days; of which led to cravings on our part for something more savoury. It was so bad one of our ODACers was even eyeing domestic animals in an especially suspicious manner. The meat was indeed a treat for all of us, leaving us immensely greatful; especially since the cooks were vegetarians themselves. SOmething that really taught us to appreciate the hospitability of the hostel staff.
Meat Meat Meat!
On the fifth day, we were also given the opportunity to carry out group reflections. Most of us took the chance to share how the entire journey impacted us, whether it was the people, the facilities or the weather conditions. All of us brought up issues we felt touched us most dearly, with a particularly memorable quote by Leroy; "CHOICE IS A PRIVILEGE MOST TAKEN FOR GRANTED.", in reference to the luxury we had back at home. It was an intensely personal and meaningful session as all of us learnt something new about each other and about ourselves.
Till next time!
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