Ups & Downs
Hi everyone,
After the exciting days leading up to Christmas and our holiday over Christmas and New Year’s Eve, I thought it was about time for a little update.
Even back in Germany, we were told that we’d definitely experience lots of Christmas parties here in India, and they weren’t wrong. It all kicked off on 2 December; the boarding school children had been rehearsing for their performance for several weeks and had even made some of their costumes themselves. A lot of time and effort had really gone into the preparations. There were lots of dances performed, to songs like ‘Baby’ by Justin Bieber, which featured hip-hop, but classical Indian dances were also on the programme. Others sang in a choir and plays were also performed. The plays we saw focused less on the birth of Jesus and much more on salvation through Jesus Christ: a man is deeply trapped in alcohol addiction and drives his family to despair, then he finds faith and is healed as a result. Unlike usual, the stories dealt with everyday problems and there were no romanticised, simplified Christmas tales to be found. Characters such as the devil or other spooky costumes were not uncommon. Furthermore, the celebrations here were significantly longer than I was used to in Germany, often lasting a whole morning. It was also always important that outsiders who were not part of the school staff were invited. Priests or other high-ranking figures were always present and were always given a special seat right on the stage, where they were additionally honoured. During such a ritual, the honoured person is presented with a shawl draped over their shoulders and, in some cases, a small gift as well. Upon our arrival and the official introduction to the pupils at the time, we were also presented with a lovely towel.
The Christmas season was therefore filled with celebrations, although we were unfortunately unable to take part in our own choir performance. This was because Salome unfortunately fell ill shortly before Christmas and had to go to hospital. Due to an infection, she was admitted to hospital for almost two days the next day, following a check-up after a brief stay in A&E. Back in Germany, I used to be quite anxious about situations like this and thought you might sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed, but we were well looked after by Sheepa, our contact person, and Salome was also very well cared for in hospital.
On Christmas Eve, we celebrated on the beach in Goa with Simon and Leander; despite all the events at Capron Hall, I unfortunately didn’t get into the Christmas spirit. I’m sure the climate here has a lot to do with it, but also the lack of the rituals I’m used to back home. I also noticed that the city wasn’t particularly decorated, which is probably because most people here are Hindu and only a small minority are Christian. We tried to make the best of the day anyway, though, and had a little present-giving session on the beach in the evening, having gone out for a meal beforehand to celebrate the day. We also spent New Year’s Eve on the crowded beach with beautiful fireworks, which was a really great evening. On New Year’s Eve, it felt less strange not to be at home and we could simply appreciate the experience here.
After the roughly 24-hour journey back, we’re now back at Capron Hall and ready to dive back into our daily routine. If you’re interested in how things are going here, I’d love it if you popped by again!
See you soon, Harriet
This text was automatically translated using an AI-powered translation system.
