Tonkeris
26 may 2012
Today I went on a school trip with Ashok, the youngest son of the family, his 15 class mates and his teacher.
We set off in a truck, the kids in the back with the teacher and me in the cab up front with the driver and his baby son. The lads in the back of the truck had bags of meat, potatoes, onions, chicken, fizzy drinks and cooking equipment for the picnic. We set off over a very rough track up towards the mountains and were eventually deposited by the side of a river in the foothills of a beautiful mountain range. It was a stunning spot and the lads immediately started playing football. Their teacher was an amazing bundle of positive energy and managed to oversee the building of a fire, cooking of a stew and the refereeing of a football match whilst crouched over the open fire. The lads helped collect fire wood, peal potatoes and layout the picnic area. We ended up sharing a hot meal made in a big wok, served with bread and lots of brightly coloured drinks.
As the afternoon progressed the rain clouds got heavier and then a thunder storm began. We ended up abandoning our camp and running to the shelter of a shepherd's hut up the mountain side. In a dry spell we began the chicken BBQ.and the lads were just getting their skewers ready when the heavens opened and torrents of water poured out of the sky. This time we got soaked and the boys were really starting to get cold. Luckily the truck driver had predicted our state and appeared early. We piled into the back of the truck and then proceeded to try to get the vehicle up the hillside whilst it's wheel span on the wet grass. So much for trip planning and risk assessments in these parts. It all ended up being great fun anyway and these boys were some of the most gentle, positive and smily kids I've spent time with. They never grumbled and helped where ever they could. The older lads always looked out for the younger ones and it was the younger lads whole rode back to the village in the cab whilst the older ones got soaked in the open back of the truck.
