BACK TO CAMP FOR THE LAST EVENING - Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Before we returned from the dam site at Teench Wala, I asked if it would be alright if we could take about a half hour and walk up the hill to see the Hindu temple we had passed earlier on. Sanjiv asked the driver to stop and park the bus and together we walked to the summit of the hill and entered the gate to the temple. It was enjoyable for me to be able to explain some of the mythology surrounding the various depictions of the gods to my friends. The temple building and shrine were built of white marble, much the same as that used at the Taj Mahal in Agra. Once we were in the courtyard area, we approached the temple and saw a gentleman, most likely the caretaker/priest, and I asked if we would be able to enter the temple and perhaps, make an offering. He agreed and gave each of us a small sweet to eat, about the size of a Necco wafer, with a sugar/mint taste to it.  The temple had several manifestations of Lord Shiva, as well as Lord Ganesha, Parvati and the three-headed representation of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. It was so peaceful to be the only people there, almost like a private viewing. Each of us offered prayers and then simply walked around to take advantage of the stunning views from this vantage point.  Looking off to the distant valleys below, it was obvious to me that part of the lush green was a result of the construction of the dam from two years prior. Once more, Rotarians from all over the world had made a significant difference to the well-being of others, whom they would perhaps never meet, but whom they had served selflessly. It was very gratifying to know that ROTARY DREAM TEAM -INDIA 2010 had contributed to this. When I get home, I will definitely send on photos of the dedication tablet at the dam, listing all of the Rotary Clubs and the team members who had participated in this project. Now, back down the hill and aboard the bus and back to the village where we would meet the tractor driver or maybe, if luck was running our way, the "TING" would ferry us back to camp.  We did luck out and our regular driver was there with a big grin on his face, and we all climbed aboard the trailer and off we went.   When we arrived back at the tent village,  we were met by members of the team who had stayed behind. They all had questions about what we had seen. We enjoyed some drinks before going into the dining tent for dinner. Tonight, we would be exchanging club banner with one another, so we could take them back to our respective clubs, to include with the club's collection.  Linda Bertuzzi had also brought the banner from the N.I.D. and asked that we all sign our names to it, so she could bring it home with her to present first to her own Rotary Club, and then perhaps take it along to the District Conference later this Spring. When she asked me to make an announcement for everyone to sign the banner (about three feet by eight feet) I got another idea in my head - auctioning off that banner to the highest bidder. After all, we had all participated in the N.I.D. and would be equally proud to have the banner to share with our clubs and districts. I kind of suggested to Linda that I might do this and at fist, she was very upset. After thinking about it for a while, however, she came back to me and told me to go ahead. The moment arrived and I made the announcement that we would be all signing the banner and that I would then auction it off to the highest bidder, with the proceeds being designated to be used to the next project of ROTARY DREAM TEAM - INDIA 2013, whatever that might be.  I began the bidding with $100 and the contest moved forward from there.  There was some spirited bidding, a competition among three or four different areas - the Californians, the French, the Midwesterners and the Rotary Club of Delhi - Megapolis. In the end, we settled at $4,100 for next year's project!!! Not a shabby amount for a few minutes of work. Since this would be our final night together, before departing on our separate travel portions, with some even departing for home the following evening, we enjoyed good fellowship and then moved outside to the fire pit, where some Rajasthani performers - singers and dancers, waited to perform for our enjoyment, complete with fire-eating and two young women dancing with a stack of eight pots on their heads.  There was even an older gentleman, who had been a victim of polio in the sixties and although he had one leg totally withered and contorted at the knee, he danced for us, using a strong pole for balance. This was particularly moving for Linda, who herself had been a polio victim and who depended upon crutches for stable mobility. Dancing and singing continued for a couple of hours and then we all went off to our tents for hot water bottle enhanced sleep.

TEENCH WALA, Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Although it was difficult for some of us to get up after our short siesta, we met Dinesh near the gate and boarded the "TING", or at least that is what we thought. Actually, we were lulled into believing that a real Massey-Ferguson tractor,  pulling a proper trailer would be much better than the "TING" but that was not the case. Since Dinesh had told us this would be a bit of a long ride into the town where we would then meet one of our buses, he suggested we sit down on the bed of the trailer. Big mistake, REALLY BIG! Not sure if this trailer ever had springs, but if so, they were long since sprung! All I know is that our backs and spines will never be the same. We bounced along, causing pain and discomfort to our spines and backs and butts. All the while, Dinesh would turn and grin his famous and charming grin while we suffered, but not in silence. I have no idea which road he took, but it was certainly not the shortest or the one with the fewest potholes.  When we reached a real road, we thought the journey would be a bit smoother. Nothing could be further from the truth. If anything it was just as bad, if not worse. I was concerned for Sanjiv, because he has a bad back any way and this jarring could not be doing him any good. When we approached the town, we saw some children wearing Polio Plus caps or cardboard masks which we all had given out to children where we worked, when they had their Polio vaccines a few days prior. It was gratifying to see that even the kids in the country had been reached and given the vaccine.  We rounded a corner and there, parked at the end of the road, were our two buses, we had left there three days before.  Anything would have been superior to the ride of the past twenty minutes. Of course, kids gathered around us as we boarded the orange bus and began our drive to the country.  The village close to the first dam we had built, TEENCH WALA, is located about fifteen minutes from one of the entrances into Sariska Jungle Park.  Because the Dream Team in 2009 had stayed at the Sariska Palace Hotel, we were forced to take a bus to and from the dam site each morning and then late in the afternoon.  Our route was through the jungle park every day, which took about an hour and a half each way. Otherwise, if we had missed the timing, we would have been forced to drive all the way around the park, which would have taken about four hours!  Even taking the shorter route cut into our work time and this is why we opted to have the tent village only a few minutes away from our site, this year. Our orange bus lumbered along country roads, and as we approached Teench Wala, we saw a beautiful Hindu temple up on top of the hill and then we turned right and down the other side of the hill, to the town.  It is always fun to see how the locals look at a passing bus with Tourist emblazoned on the front since I am confident they don't see such a sight more than once or twice a year. This time was no exception.  Kids ran alongside our bus, with little regard for safety. After all, we are in India and this is the norm - that people of all ages, camels, pigs, cows, sheep, goats, motorcycles, scooters, bicycles, cars, trucks, buses and who knows what else are ALWAYS in the roads. Always with the wonderful smiles on their faces, with the brightest eyes and whitest teeth. The neem tree does wonders for dental hygiene and teeth whitening.  We finally reached the village and got down from the bus. First, we walked over to the school where only two years before, we had been a total disruption in the day, by bringing lots of trinkets for the children, including frisbees. I remember it only took about three tries before the kids, who had never seen such a thing, were able to master the art of throwing, or is it slinging, a frisbee. Some of the children gathered around us, and I recognized a couple of the boys who had helped us in 2009, with the dam construction. Although a bit taller and somewhat geeky, I knew they were the same kids. We began our march ago the dam, along the path that wound through the woods but something was so different... There were leaves on the trees, and grasses growing, rather than the barren turf it had been two years before. An old gentleman from the village walked with us and at one point, turned and began to explain the difference our project had made in the lives of those living nearby. He told us that since the dam had been completed, the valley had become productive with crops, one of which they refer to as a upper crop, since  it was vegetables and not only could they eat them, but also they could sell the vegetables to others in other towns not too far away.  As we turned to look westward, it was thrilling to see green everywhere... There were even pumps and hoses running down to the reservoir, bringing water up a few levels for irrigating even more area for production. Turning again and heading further along the path, we walked up a small hill and came to the crest and looked to see the fruits of our labors - a dam that was not only finished, but that held back a good deal of water, even after seven months since the monsoons! From atop the dam, I was able to point out where we had once sat and had our dining tent, or where the potty had been located. Swimming in the captured water were cormorants and ducks. Wildlife was everywhere. What a thrill to think we had actually had a serious impact upon the lives of those living net Teench Wala.  Dinesh asked me to walk across the top of the dam and to turn so he could take my photo with the marble tablet in the background. The name of the project was engraved on the 3' x 4' piece of black marble, as well as the fact that the project was one involving the Rotary Club of Sanford-Springvale Maine, USA, and the names of all of the team members from all over the world who had gathered as the Rotary Dream Team - India 2010. Now, heading back to our bus, many more of the children in the village had heard we were there and came to walk with us. Again I recognized a couple of boys, who now must be about twelve or thirteen. One boy in particular had very light skin and light brown hair, not something one sees often in India. I aught up to him and his school chums and said I recognized him and asked if he had helped us two years before. Hi friend, in perfect English said they both had worked with us. When I said I thought I recognized his face and his hair, the other boy taunted him saying, "He is a white boy, he is your boy!" Everyone had  a good laugh about this, andre continued walking toward the bus.  Before we boarded the bus, the same old gentleman came to me, took my hands in his and as best he could explain himself to me, with tears in his eyes, he thanked me for what our team had done, and elaborated that six bore wells, which had long since gone dry, had been restored and were now gushing, due to the dam. Pretty powerful stuff to hear about a group of Rotarians who had given their time and their talent and their treasure to about five thousand strangers who benefited from it all.

WEDNESDAY, THE FINAL DAY OF WORK... Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Again, we were up and at it at an early hour and today, it really was earlier, since we had messed up the day before by not showing up for work on time, as far as the local crew was concerned. We were up at 5:30 with breakfast at 6:00 and departing either on foot or in the "TING" so we would arrive to begin working no later than 7:30. Again, this was to help avoid working at the hottest time of day, when the sun was brightest. Temperatures each day climbed well into the 80s and it was very easy to over exert and to suffer from heat exhaustion or from us poisoning, so e had to avoid that at all costs. Once more, there were definite teams which had emerged and although there was no announced competition, there was an underlying tension which those on our team felt. The one team was much larger with Dream Team members far outnumbering any of the locals. This team had its act together and began passing basins of masala almost immediately. The tough part, however, was the fact that the local ladies, who were part of the labor force, did not show up as we had planned, to begin working at 7:30. Perhaps this was a it of payback? And you know what they say about payback! Much to the delight of our smaller in number team, several of the local ladies came over and began to carry the basins of masala that Tim Mulcrone began filling. Marcia sat down on the edge of the pit and was the catcher and the passer of the full basins, first taking a full basin from one of the local ladies and the passing it on to Randy, who was already standing on the floor of the pit. He, in turn, would toss it on to the next team member, who tossed to another and so on until  reached its destination and then was dumped. The empty basin was then passed back through to Marie Unger who then tossed it up to me, where I was standing on the edge of the pit. Catching the empty basin in my left hand, I then passed it to one of the ladies waiting to return to Tim for a refill. Our group was pacing itself well, and we seemed to be making great progress, steady progress, without getting totally exhausted in the process. We took frequent mini breaks, stopping for one or two minutes only to pass water bottles, or bottles of electrolytes, for all of us to drink. One or two of the Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Delhi-Megapolis had driven out from Delhi to join us in the line. N.P. Singh and two others were part of our team. After working for about two hours, and facing the very hot sun, I determined it would be a good move if Randy and I could trade places and change r respective exposures to the sun. We switched places but did not refrain from a very active and sometimes pointed repartee between us. Tips also helped the hours pass more quickly. Even Marsha (this time I spelled it correctly) added a few barbs and this made it even more fun to be on our team.  11:30 rolled around and we all began to climb out from the pit and to move over to where Kelly was holding down the fort and watching over our backpacks, etc. Dinesh looked over and pleaded with me to have the team work just one more half-hour, until noon before calling it quits. We all agreed, or at least most of us, and we made the final push for another thirty minutes.  Again, we gathered over to where Kelly was located, in the shade, and with Dinesh to help us, we were able to distribute some of our old work clothes, some shoes, work boots, hats and who knows what. In a very orderly manner, each member of the local labor force received one item, with care be given to making as sure as possible that a lady would receive something appropriate, rather than a pair of men's work boots.  Once this task was completed, we then headed back for lunch.  Our trips back and forth in the "TING" followed a very differ route from the one used by the walkers.  Was great fun, because we chugged down country roads, passing an occasional house where mothers and children were bathing on the front patio area, or an older gent was sitting off to one side, puffing on his hookah.  Then we would look out into the fields of wheat or mustard and there, standing in the middle, was a scarecrow! This was not your average, everyday scarecrow, but rather one which came complete with turban!  A short distance further, we maneuvered our way through a small enclave of homes, where a half-dozen men sat on a cot and shared their morning hookah and where the local women squatted in front of a small fire, preparing breakfast for the family. One morning, a young woman walked holding a newborn kid goat, still wet and with its umbilicus, and the nanny goat braying to have her kid returned so she could nurse it. Talk about sensory overload!!! Just around the corner, where several women and children gathered each day to wave us through the turn, were two pens of water buffalo, totaling about fifty head. There might be a crow perched on the back of one of the water buffalo while a woman might be milking another. What we witnessed each day was the simple life at its best! When we returned to the tent village, a group of locals was kind of hanging out near the gate. You see, the "TING" attracted a great deal of attention as it hurtled across the desert terrain each day, due to the fact to our driver plugged in his mobile phone into a speaker and we had musical (very loud musical) accompaniment each day. By the time we reached the gate, some of the women were dancing. One older woman, in particular, was really into the scene and twirled around and had all of the hand gestures of a true Rajasthani dancer.  We paused to watch this display, and even some of our own women joined in the dancing. Again, we we handed wet washcloths and were able to wipe away the sweat and grime of the morning. Beer (now Foster's from Down Under, which the Aussies did not fancy) and wine and soft drinks were again offered. Linda Bertuzzi shamed Gene Hernandez and Randy Pote into venturing to the kitchen tent and returning with two small plates with sliced cucumbers for our eyes.  Another great lunch and then a siesta until about 2:30. Several team members chose to return for a last session at the dam site. Others chose to rest in their tents, while the rest of us traveled to Teench Wala, the site of our first dam project back in 2012. I was eager to see the progress since we had left the construction of the dam, and to see if it had sustained, even after many months since the monsoon.

A PLETHORA OF PIT BOSSES - February 21, 2012

After sorting out the previous day's level of production, a few of us chatted about how and when we might be able to realign the teams in order to become more productive, and whether or not members of the team would spend to gentle suggestions as to how they might adapt, just a bit.  After full consideration, we determined everyone would seek his or her own level of comfort and would also most likely not change teams, so, as my friend, Bob Weel from Anchorage, Alaska would say, "onward and upward!" Pacing ourselves seemed to work well and actually we did become more productive. We got into a great rhythm on our end of the dam, and we just seemed to be firing on all burners. Since it had been almost oppressively hot the first day, we decided to try to arrive at 7:00 in the morning, and begin work and work in the cooler part of the day, then take a longer lunch and return in the latter part of the afternoon. Having arrived later than we had planned (and had assured Dinesh that we would arrive at that hour) when 11:30 rolled around, the local ladies stopped, lined up and began eating their lunches.   One or two of the ladies also reached inside a fold in the skirts or blouses and pulled out a small pipe. I stopped to watch what they were ding, while they cleaned out and then refilled the pipe with who knows what.  They lit the pipes and began puffing on them. Seeing my fascination with the pipe, they gestured for me to join them. So as not to offend any of them, I obliged.  I did not put m mouth on the pipe, but took it in my hand, with my thumb and index finger wrapped around the mouth, and then puffed a few times. Not knowing what they and now I were smoking was probably for the better! Skew of the team members joked about getting high at work,  but truly, the heat and exertion contributed to my wanting to take a break ow and then, far more than anything else. We, however, continued working, until it was time for us to break for our lunch. Back to the tent village, either by walking or taking the "TING" and once more, the boys greeted us with the wet washcloths and beer, wine or soft drinks. Linda Bertuzzi decided that we could benefit from clearing the dust out of our eyes, and requested the kitchen staff to bring some thinly sliced cucumbers that we all placed on our eyelids, and enjoyed the spa-like cool and relief of the cukes on our eyes. Another fantastic lunch and then it was siesta time. We struggled to rise up from our beds to return to work, but somehow we made it. A full afternoon for us, but the local ladies all of a sudden stopped work, lined up and started to march away. Goverdahn shouted to them to stop but they kept walking. Finally, one of the ladies turned around and shouted back that THEY had arrived early to accommodate us, and although we had arrived late, there was no reason for them to work overtime, but that our team could work on until we had completed a full day. Back for wet washcloths, beer, wine, Scotch, soft drinks and another fantastic dinner, and you guessed it, hot water bottles in our beds. Of course, the hyena and the jackals were also adding their voices to the night.

HI HO, HI HO, IT'S OFF TO WORK WE GO... February 20, 2012

After a wonderful, tasty hot breakfast, we were told we had the choice of walking to the dam site or riding in the "TING-A-MA-JIG" but nearly all of us chose to walk, following along behind Dinesh.  Over dusty trails, which appeared to lead nowhere in particular, we came over a rise to see some of the crew from the tent village erecting a Potty Tent, not too far from the actual area where we would be working to construct the dam.  The paid workers were already there and hard at work. Some  of the women, who were clothed in bright colored salwar kameezes with orange head scarves, turned briefly to see what disturbance had interrupted their rhythm in mixing the masala (concrete mix) or in passing it along and down into the pit, where the very floor of the footing showed a great deal of progress.  The first, and perhaps the most crucial step had been taken - that of digging out the area which would then be filled with stones and covered over with dry and then wet masala mix.  In previous years, we had been responsible for the digging, by hand, of the trenches for the footing, so this was a real advance for us to have the huge trench already dug. The dimensions were approximately forty feet across to the other side, about fifteen feet in depth, and about one hundred and fifty feet from end to end. This was a good deal larger than the first two dams we had helped to construct the previous two years.  Almost immediately, we split into teams of twenty members and formed lines for passing basins of rocks or masala and then passing the empties back for refilling. Although most of the members of the team had never been involved in such a project, the team concept took hold and we were off and passing in only a few minutes. Some lines passed from one to the next person, both facing the same direction, while others of us determined it might be more beneficial to face one another, particularly if we were passing full basins of masala. When the women were filling the basins, they would double scoop them and they would be far heavier than those which were frilled with by Doug Fowler or Tim Mulcrone or Devo Ramalingam. Our own team members were a bit more cognizant of what it took for a bunch of somewhat out of shape, older folks to pass very heavy basins, and we also felt strongly by not filling the basins completely, we would be more productive and for a longer period of time than if we dropped from exhaustion and heat stroke.  "Don't forget to stay hydrated! Make sure you drink plenty of water and make sure to drink some electrolytes, too! Don't try to be a hero and not take a break!" These were all good warnings which each of us should be heeding, but as is always the case, until it is too late, a few always ignore the warnings and then get faint and drop to their knees. There were a few who sadly learned the lesson.  They were moved over into a shady area, where Camp Nurse Kelly would watch over them and make very sure they took in enough water and electrolytes. Also, when some got splinters, she offered Neosporin and band aids and even a safety pin to dig out the splinters. That first day, Kelly commandeered four bags of cement to be stacked so she had somewhere to sit that was not on the ground and full of long thorns. Every hour, she would have to readjust and face a different direction in order to avoid being in the direct sunlight. After about an hour of backbreaking work, both along the lines and in the "pit", we took our first break.  And did we ever need it. I suggested at this point that we needed to remember, "this is not a race, people! We need to learn to pace ourselves, because if we don't, we will not be good to or for anyone and every member is crucial to the mix. Take the time to assess your own strengths and weaknesses and do not over exert yourselves". Back to work for another hour and a half and the it was lunchtime. Initially, we thought we would be returning to the tent village for lunch, but we're told that lunch was being prepared and brought to us. Wow, what service! Time seemed to pass and still no lunch. Then, out of nowhere,we heard the coughing of the "TING" and soon it appeared over the hill. The boys from the camp had set up the chafing dishes with hot food and passed us tin plates and utensils. But the best part was the fact that they had placed a fifty-five gallon drum with a fire inside, so one of them could make chapatis or rotis, the nan type of bread that is a flattened ball of raw dough, that is then slapped against the outside wall of concrete within the barrel, and cooked until done. Sorry, but this is a bit difficult to explain.  If one is dexterous and wishes to practice eating in a more native fashion, one could simply use the chapati to scoop up the food from the plate, rather than using conventional forks or spoons. Lunch was delicious and finished much too quickly for some of us. After we finished eating, several of us went out to lie down on the ground and just rest before returning to "the line".  The remainder of the afternoon proceeded relatively uneventful, with no serious injuries and everyone pitching in at their respective comfort levels. When it was time to call it a day, a good portion of the team opted to take the long trek back to the tent village. A little late, I decided to walk back,  as well, but had some difficulty because I could not see the group that had left ahead of me, and to add insult to injury, I was raising a pretty good sized blister between two toes.  The "TING" rumbled up over the knoll behind me and so I took the liberty of riding the final two hundred yards and through the gate at the camp.  We all gathered in the reception tent and enjoyed Kingfisher beers or red or white wine or soft drinks. But the best part was upon our arrival, we were each handed a cool wet washcloth to wipe the grime off our faces and hands. As soon as some of us plunked ourselves down in one of the rattan chairs, we confessed we most likely would still be thee in the morning! Nobody wanted to move from their chose rest spot.  Dinner followed in the dining tent at about six thirty and the many of us sat around the fire pit and shared stories and then went to our tents and discovered a wonderful surprise... While we we eating, the boys from the camp had visited most of our tents (some had already gone to bed) and placed a hot water bottle in each of our beds. What a welcome gift, to be able to snuggle down into a warmed bed and settle in for the night.  Too bad they had not been able to provide this service the night before because that was really the coldest  of the three nights.  Falling asleep to the howls of the hyenas and the jackals as they were successful in their kills and then screamed at their kits when they may have taken too large a piece of the fresh meat. However, to my knowledge none of us poked our heads outside of our tents to take a look. Also, that night, there must have been a wedding taking place in a nearby village, because the singing (and presumably the dancing) continued on at least until one o'clock in the morning.

A TING-A-MA-JIG, evening of February 19, 2012

Boarding our two buses (one for Tour A and the other for Tour B), we now headed for what was to be one heck of an adventure. Of into the countryside we traveled, over roads which had more potholes than pavement, so each of us felt every bump in the way. Due to the poor condition of these country roads, we were forced to drive at incredibly slow speeds, which delayed our arrival at our tent village, before sundown. It was very dark out, with only a "finger nail" moon, when we arrived at the village, Gurkha  Kheda closest to the location of the dam project. Actually, the area through which we were passing had some familiarities to the landscape, and I later learned we were passing close by the area she our team in 2009 had helped to construct the dam at Teench Wala.  Our drivers were barely able to navigate through the narrow streets and at some of the turns, we nearly scraped the sides of the buses along walls and light poles.  All the while, the villagers either walked by the bus, stood in awe of not one but two buses lumbering into town, because I am confident Gurkha Kheda is not on anyone's "bucket list" of must visit sites in the world! We finally reached our stopping point and the point of disembarkation when we squeezed into patch of dung-covered soil and turned off the motors.  Now, the fun was about to begin... The next sound we heard over the cries of joy coming from the children of the village was that of a "one-lunger" or single cycle engine coughing it's we through the streets, and making its way to our location.  Just about that moment, a make-shift carry-all rounded the corner and hacked to a stop. This, we were informed was a TING-A-MA-JIG and it was going to deliver us to the tent village. SERIOUSLY?  Another name for it could have been Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  It was hauling behind it a platform with a couple of sides and that portion was the cart in which we would stand for the time it would take "TING" to traverse the barren night desert. What a treat we had in store for us. Not sure of the time we departed on our journey across the desert to what would be our home for the next few nights, but it was cold and it was dark. About a dozen of us climbed into the "trailer" part of the "TING" and then, truth be told, the driver climbed down off his perch and grabbed a handle grip, which he hooked over the square fitting and began to crank and crank in order to get the "one lunger" to cough and sputter and catch. I am sure he was hopeful it might purr but that was not to be, except perhaps at the least inkling of an incline, where it settled down nicely while awaiting the heavy foot which caused it to rev to a high enough rpm level as to surge our jitney forward and then cost for a bit before the next incline.  During this inaugural trip, I heard many iterations that included references of Tommy the Train or the Little Engine That Could! "C'mon" they said. "we think you can, we think you can!" Way off in the distance, we could see the glow of lights and hoped that might be our tent encampment and, indeed, it was. Some must have been expecting pup tents and a trench shovel to dig a pit for a toilet. This as far from that. The image of Lawrence of Arabia, perhaps, might have been a bit more accurate. We jumped down (only choice) from the back end of the "TING" and proceeded through a sort of entry gate in a cloth clad wall that surrounded the encampment. To our immediate right was the dining tent - sized to the task of handling a wedding reception for at least two hundred guests. In front of us was the reception tent, where we would gather in the afternoons following work, or we we returned to camp for lunch. At the perimeter surrounding the courtyard, about twenty-eight Swiss-style tents were placed. Each tent as outfitted similarly with an entry "fly" under which were set two peacock shaped rattan chairs and a table. Unzipping the main zipper and then the screen zipper, one entered the bedroom, where two cots were covered with brightly colored quilts. On the opposite side, there was a table and a side chair as well as a bench for luggage. Step now, through the next flap into the throw, which boasted a stainless steel sink bowl, mirror on a stand, a eastern style toilet and then a shower platform with faucets and a hose with shower head.  The appointments did not lack for much.   We were called to the dining tent, where a wonderful hot meal awaited us. Each round was set for eight persons, complete with table cloth, placemats, cloth napkins, etc. , with the buffet line offering savory dishes, from soup to nuts. Following dinner, the staff brought out a birthday cake with one candle inscribed with HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ELIAS, P.D.G. Somehow, I think that dear friend Kelly Wike had a good deal to do with this. In addition, the three gentlemen from PHD Rural Development Chamber of  Commerce, with whom our teams had helped to construct two dams in previous years, were there - Goverdahn and his two sons, Dinesh and Banwari.  They also had a surprise for me, having purchased a traditional Rajasthani kurta and pantaloons. Unfortunately, even though I have lost some weight in recent weeks, sizes in India were not meant to fit me.  However, the thought was most appreciated. The topper,  literally, was a turban of bright colors, that they had to rework twice, because it had fallen apart.  We were then treated to a righty celebration  which included several drummers and dancers from the local area. It was very cold when we retired to our tents, but even with the night chill, we had been warmly welcomed.  To bed and not so early to rise the next  morning and to begin our three days of labor.

LOOKING FOR A SIGN... FEBRUARY 17, 2012

"Okay, Elias, how are we supposed to know where we are going when we arrive?" "Just  look for a sign - on that reads ROTARY DREAM TEAM -INDIA 2012." After deplaning, all of us having grabbed our carry-on items, proceeded to the concourse and began the rather long walk through brightly carpeted corridors, beautifully maintained with displays of plantings throughout and on to the escalators, which brought us down to the level of the Customs and Immigration bureau and bandage claim and for some, and even more important, the duty free shops!  Once having descended to tha level, we queued up to be processed through and then proceeded on to retrieve our bags.  Even if our bags had been tagged as PRIORITY, it basically meant nothing, and we had to wait just like everyone else.  However, the process took much less time than in many American airports. This place is really efficient, and for this, we are most appreciative.  Truly, to be processed through immigration within less than five minutes seems rather astounding! From baggage claim we worked our way out through to the general reception area where we were faced with literally dozens of people waving signs in the air with names of their special friends of relatives, or merely a taxi fare, to wisk them off into the night, which is India! And just as I had predicted, outside and to the left of the teeming multitudes, was my friend and member of the staff of HiPoints, Bani. his face lit up when he saw me, and he gave me a welcoming embrace. I told him I felt I had arrived home again,  and was so pleased to be here. I told him we would more easily find the team members, because each of us was wearing the team shirt - a wonderful shade of purple, which although Gene Hernandez found fault with the color and said he would have a problem wearing that color, it helped to pick out the team members and soon we were all assembled and ready to move on to the next leg of our journey - the bus rise to our hotel. And, oh what a journey that was! Even at the late hour of the night, the choked lanes of traffic we just as I had remembered them, nearly impossible to navigate. What would normally be expected to take a half-hour, took nearly two and a half hours. The cacophonous deluge of sounds, mixed with smells, put several of us on sensory overload.  Finally, upon arrival at the Ramada Hotel in Gurgaon, we stepped down from the bus and into the lobby where the night manager and his staff were prepared to carry our bags to our rooms so we could settle down for a short sleep, but one that was so welcome after the tedium of a fourteen hour flight with a surly crew. Bank explained that not all of the team members had arrived and that some of them would be coming on shortly.  Several of us remained downstairs in the lobby lounge, to enjoy a quick beer or some wine, awaiting the arrival of prospective roommates from either France or Australia. I enjoyed the company of Sergio and Norma Iglesias, the district governor nominee and his wife from Vera Cruz, Mexico. We found that we had a great deal in common and acknowledged reality of the Magic of Rotary. About a half-hour later, first the French contingent arrived, with Diddier Fosse, my dear friend and team member for four or five years, and a young lady named Elodie, who had accompanied him for this experience. Shortly thereafter, the four team members from Australia arrived - Pete Dalwood, Rossi Beddow, Leonie and Lee Ann. Rossi was to share my room with me that first night, and since his mother Carole Beddow and his sister, Fabian, had traveled with me in previous years, we had a great deal to discuss, especially the birth of Fabia's little boy. Finally, with lights out and talk winding down, we fell to sleep. Up early in the morning, and back into two different buses to be driven on to the village of Chahalka, where we would tour the projects of previous teams.