The weeklong prep had been rather hectic. I guess we were too slack and didn't do much planning for the trip. It's been a rather crazy week, having to attend a meetup and M and N's wedding the day immediately after I touch down from Hanoi (I'm like half dead and totally in a I-just-want-to-slack-at-home mood) but what needs to be done needs to be done. So the week was spend running around the country, collecting bedsheets from C at Simei, borrowing a Polaroid camera from Y at the Expo, packing and doing up PowerPoint presentations, going to boys home like thrice in a week (I admit it's a slight overkill...but I really learn to love going there!) and then inserted lunch/dinner with YL and YP is whatever pocket of time that is left. Super busy, but it always beats idling around.
Just to touch a little on the trip. I've always been skeptical about how effective such trips are, as I see them as being cost ineffective. In a way, I'm paying $400 to fly there and back, doing like 3-4 days of work. Assuming my daily labour reaps like $30 of value, I'm in essence paying $400 to fly there, and contributing only $90-120 worth of work. Might as well donate the air ticket to them, and like what every economist would tell u, cash is the best incentive as the people can decide how to maximize their utility individually.
So my purpose here is actually to observe. Less of an altruistic motive, more of just satisfying my curiosity. I've been to India before, and this is a place I have no confidence of traveling alone. So this is a golden opportunity to take a look at the inner workings of the country. The social tourism part is an added advantage, allowing me to understand something that you will never find in Singapore (Singapore has poorer people, but we don't have the poor and destitute). Just before people start tearing me apart for sounding a little heartless and callous, I still do believe in helping others, I just don't believe that it's the best way to. We are all entitled to our own personal view of this world. So for me, I am just there to observe and understand, and at the same time, help others. Which i think might be slightly different from the other participants, who might be there to help others, and at the same time, observe and understand.
I'm both excited and a little worried. Excited because India is such an exotic place, and I'm sure wonderful things will happen along the way. Worried because apart from SW, I don't actually know anyone from the group. After cultivating a taste for traveling on my own, the prospect of traveling with others, and in this case, mostly strangers, sounds a little daunting. But I'm confident that most of them are v nice people...I shall try harder to be nice too :/
The flight is in a couple of hours. My next post is likely to be from India! :)
Mark
Heading out again
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