Minneapolis St. Paul child baby & newborn photographer

india :: day 3

gwendolyn waite — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:02:18 +0000

On Monday we spent much of our day getting acquainted with the volunteer team, and finding out where we would be working. I was assigned to teach the Lower Kindergarten and Upper Kindergarten classes at Grace Nursery and Primary School, in Porur, Chennai. The children from Grace School come from all walks of life. Some of them are too poor to be able to pay the school fees, but not all of them. There is a shortage of teachers at Grace, so they depend on the volunteers to be able to teach all the classes.

I’ll share some photos of my students at Grace tomorrow. For today, here are more photos from the neighborhood surrounding the guesthouse where I am staying. Litter fills the streets, and the stench fills the air, mixed with incense, curry, smoke from burning trash, and exhaust. Cows roam the streets, rummaging around in the trash looking for edible scraps.

In the evening we went to SEAM, the SouthEast Asia Mission, the orphanage our team is working with. The children sang and danced for us, and we spent some time getting to know them. They proudly showed off their rooms, showed us their future library and led us around their home. They were so excited to see us, so eager for our attention, so wanting and needing our affection. Beautiful, beautiful children. I don’t want to even think about how hard it is going to be to leave them in two weeks…

Pin It

india :: day 2

gwendolyn waite — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:22:59 +0000

Day two in India. We hired a tuk-tuk to take us to the beach, for when in a city on the coast of India, it only seems proper to make a visit to the beach. But the tuk-tuk drivers (yes, two drivers – a father and son team) seemed intent on showing us the scenic route, and took us to visit a few temples along the way. At that point, we were having so much fun we had no interest in seeing the beach, so we let our driver show us the city. Here are some of the sights we visited on Saturday.

These next few were taken at the Contemporary Art Gallery in Chennai. We didn’t have time to go inside, but walked around the grounds outside.

Then our host from Global Volunteers picked us up from our hotel and drove us to the guesthouse, where we will be staying for the next two weeks. Here is my room – charming, comfortable, and cheerily bright. We have our own private bathroom, one room with a shower, sink, and toilet. I have yet to master the Indian-style shower, which involves two buckets and very little water. And none of it hot. However, given that we are blessed with a western-style toilet, I’m not one to complain.

Ok, signing off for the night, in hopes of a semi-complete night of sleep. Goodnight, all.

india :: day 1

gwendolyn waite — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 02:54:25 +0000

As I write now, I am getting settled in my room in the guesthouse in Porur, India. Yes, what everyone says about India is true. It’s overwhelming, in an absolutely magical and endlessly beautiful way. But there’s also devastation, filth and extreme poverty, existing side by side in a world that is fast-moving, loud, and intent. We spent the first couple days in India trekking around Chennai in a tuk-tuk, or motorized rickshaw. We found ourselves in T. Nagar, a shopping district filled with sarees, books, jewelry, food, and textiles. Too overwhelmed to write more… tomorrow we will officially begin our volunteer program. Tonight, sleep!

orphan-hugging

gwendolyn waite — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:55:12 +0000

Hi, lovely blog reader! I’m off on an epic orphan-hugging adventure in Chennai, India, and will return on February 14th.

Feel free to email, and I’ll get back to you upon my return stateside!

all polished up :: minneapolis natural light photographer

gwendolyn waite — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:54:02 +0000

I wanted to share some photos of my new branding pieces. I splurged on some letterpress business cards and notecards last fall, and I’m sooooo very happy with them. They are quite simply, divine.

The very talented and lovely Christine from deluxemodern design created all of my new branding. If you’re looking for a new look, please check her out. She’s immensely talented, and just a gem to work with. She gave life and warmth to my brand, and made it all shine. I took my lovely new design to Kent at Nomadic Press to have my business cards printed. I’ve had a long time obsession with letterpress, and it’s been an aspiration of mine for quite some time to have my own letterpress cards. Kent was awesome. He indulged me in taking some photos of his letterpress equipment at the press check, which I will share soon. I am in love with these little cards. They are truly swoonworthy.

The last two photos are my packaging fluff. I love nothing more than to hear my clients squeal in delight at how pretty their orders are packaged.

Thank you Kent and Christine for helping my business shine!

Pin It