Day 3 

A hot day from dawn to dusk. To no surprise, after our first hard days work yesterday, some girls were pronounced dead at the bedside due their failure to react to their blaring alarms. 

Today was Group A's rotation visiting the Mary Rice Centre for intellectually disabled children and St. Mary's School . The journey to Dum Dum, where the school is situated, is an experience in itself. Livestock and rickshaws careening through crowds of people as well as the jam packed Metro ride, where we cram into the designated Ladies Area until we're literally cheek to cheek. 

As actively engaging as teaching in St.George's, the Mary Rice Centre is a very fulfilling place to work in, as the children could otherwise be excluded from their communities due to their disabilities if not for the admirable courage of their parents seeking a future for their children.

Today we (B&C) decided to introduce a small part of our mountain of teaching resources to the students in St. George's. We decided to err on the side of caution and only bring a small amount of very simple worksheets and colours to start with, as not to overwhelm the children. However after lunch we found ourselves scrambling to gather as many colours, bubbles, sheets, and stickers as could fit in our bags. The children were involved in our activities with such enthusiasm that we quickly got through all the lessons we had prepared for the morning. Already this trip has instilled a new level of admiration for our teachers! 

Being Valentine's Day, we thought it would be a nice idea to teach the children about the festival and make Valentine's cards with them. This was one of the most enjoyable activities of the trip so far - no one need worry about us Killiney girls feeling lonely without a Valentine! We all came back to school with arms full of the most gorgeous hand made cards. 

After lunch we were brought to an event called 'One Billion Rising' by St George's students. En route, we experienced the Kolkata metro at rush hour. We were greeted by two little monkeys as we exited the metro station, which made us regret our decision of not receiving the rabies vaccine! Of course, this was just a typical HCK over reaction. This is an international event calling for solidarity with women who are victims of abuse, oppression, rape, and injustice. Students from local schools performed traditional Indian dances inspired by the theme of women's liberation. We were completely taken aback by the talent and grace of the children, many of them from the public free schools. There were also some less impressive karaoke-esque performances of songs like 'Mysterious Girl' and 'Closer ' by Indian 'celebrities'. In typical Killiney fashion we danced along with great gusto, drawing the attention of more than a few spectators. As an example of how energetic the atmosphere was, Sarah "dozed off". We also started a new fashion trend among us as we adopted the bandana as a protective measure for our exposed hair lines from the blazing sun. 

Among the dancers were a group of very proud St. George's students, delighted to perform in front of such a large crowd. Their talents are endless- from their graceful dance moves to their impressive arts and crafts skills. 

We had another amazing but exhausting day and are looking forward to a good nights sleep. 

Sarah Maher, Emily Cullen, Ellen Doherty, India Kelly, Kiara Wigzell (Group C) xoxo