Indian Odyssey

Thanks to the Boyse Educational Foundation Trust, in October 2010 I was able to have the experience of a lifetime in India for two weeks.

The trip was arranged by school as an outlet for people interested in creative writing. We arrived in Delhi after a 9 hour plane journey to a misty, humid and dusty environment. We spent our first few days sight-seeing and soaking up the general atmosphere of the city. We visited the Taj Mahal, Gandhi's memorial and other significant temples. The Taj Mahal was spectacular and really lived up to the fact it is one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the World’.

However, I believe from this part of the trip, I gained more from just walking through the streets of Delhi to get a taste of a unique culture and lifestyle.

The next few days of our trip were spent in a diversely different environment to Delhi, on the beach of the river Ganges in the foot hills of the Himalayas. The air seemed much cleaner and the sights were breathtaking. We did a variety of activities at the beach camp which included white water rafting, hiking and visiting local schools and communities. We met some of the locals and were shown the reality of the way they lived. This was shocking as

compared to us they live on the absolute bare essentials which puts everything I expect from life into perspective. It was a very humbling experience.

The third place we stayed was higher up still in the Himalayan Mountains and we found the wonderfully warm weather was non-existent up here and found ourselves wrapped in 10 layers and a woolly hat to attempt to go to sleep in our tents. On this part of the trip we did trekking everyday and visited villages and schools along the way. They were very grateful for our visits as we bought gifts of pens pencils and paper. The children were very excited about the rubber on the end of the pencils - but didn't seem to quite grasp the concept that they didn't rub out pen!

The last few days of our trip were spent back in Delhi where we were treated to an experience belonging to the richer people of India, finding ourselves on the last night, dining in a revolving restaurant which gave us a full circle view of Delhi. The contrast between the richer side of Delhi and the poorer slums was incredible.

By the end of the trip I had more than enough to write about! I have gained knowledge of the culture and poverty of India allowing me to appreciate what I have a lot more. I will never forget my experience in India and the things it has taught me.

Daisy England

Wellesbourne Library

The Boyse Educational Foundation has recently donated nearly forty new books to Wellesbourne Library. They are for children of all ages and teenagers and have a Christian background.

There are for example two Bibles in comic strip and Archbishop Desmond Tutu's Storybook Bible.

To celebrate the 400^th anniversary of the King James' Bible this year there is a Bible Encyclopaedia and a book about Bible Facts. There are favourites like C.S. Lewis “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” and “Prince Caspian” as well as the Goriest, Weirdest and Craziest Bible Stories, also some Youth Teen Fiction books by Melody Carson and Patricia St John.

If you are interested in Answers to popular questions on religion then Kathryn Slattery's book “If I could ask God anything” is worth a look.

Look out for them and enjoy them.